Many train accidents worldwide occur due to the presence of obstacles on or next to the railway in a way that is invisible to the engine driver or is made visible within a distance that does not allow avoidance of hitting the obstacle. The ability to avoid an impact with such obstacle depends on a variety of factors including, for example, environment and weather dependent visibility, rail track form (curvatures, tunnels, etc.) and topography (hills and rocks that block line of sight, etc.) dependent visibility, the velocity and mass of the train (total kinetic energy) at the moment of becoming aware of the presence of the obstacle, and the size, position and color (object specific visibility) of the obstacle. Each of such factors has direct effect on the distance and time required for stopping a running train in order to avoid an obstacle accident. Some affect directly the full-stop distance and some affect the ability to notice an object and to define the object as an obstacle.
Typical decision time of the engine driver, total mass of a running train together with typical travelling speeds of trains dictate distances that exceed 1-2 kilometers for detecting an obstacle, deciding of emergency braking and braking the train, in many cases. Such distance dictates that in order to avoid an obstacle accident, the engine driver needs to be able to see an object from a two kilometers distance or similar, and be able to decide whether the observed object is indeed an obstacle that must be avoided, then be able to operate the braking means—all that before the braking distance has been exhausted. There is a need for a system and method that will assist and support the engine driver in acquiring an object along the railway, evaluating the hazard of its presence and taking an operational decision as to whether braking the train is required—all that soon enough to allow for safe braking of the train before it hits the obstacle.